There has been no change in the top baby names chosen by parents in Scotland for years now!
Olivia and Jack were the most popular baby names of 2018, according to statistics released by National Records of Scotland today.
Olivia was the top girls’ name for the third consecutive year and Jack retains the top spot it has held for eleven years in a row.
Once again, Emily is the second most popular name for girls, and Grace is now in the girls’ top ten, rising from thirteenth to eighth.
Charlotte drops off the top ten list, going down from ninth to thirteenth.
There are two new names in the girls’ top twenty: Eilidh, up from twenty first to nineteenth, and Mia, up from twenty third to twentieth.
Oliver and James now take joint second place for boys – James rose from third place while Oliver was alone in second place last year.
Rory rose from seventeenth to ninth and is the only entrant to the boys’ top ten, while Harry dropped off it, down from tenth to twelfth.
The two new names in the boys’ top twenty are Max, up from twenty fourth to nineteenth, and Finn, up from twenty fifth to twentieth.
National Records of Scotland registered 23,253 girls and 24,532 boys in the period covered by the figures. There were 4,130 different first forenames for girls and 3,322 for boys. Of these, 2,635 girls and 2,085 boys were given first forenames that were unique to them.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism, and External Affairs, said: “Choosing the name of your baby is incredibly important, in most cases their name will stay with them for the rest of their lives. It is always fun to see the names parents around the country are choosing and how it varies year to year.
“Some names have an enduring appeal with Jack the most popular boys’ name for the eleventh year in a row and Olivia, the most popular girls’ name for the third consecutive year.
“We are seeing more unique names in the rankings, showing us that parents put a lot of thought into choosing exactly the right names for their babies.”
Further information
• Georgia and Rosie rose the furthest in the top fifty list for girls, both moving up thirteen places to 24th and 27th respectively
• Jaxon rose the furthest in the top fifty list for boys, moving up ten places to joint 33rd
• The fastest climbing names new to the top fifty girls’ list were Ivy, up twenty places to joint 38th, and Mila, up sixteen places to 36th
• The fastest climbing names new to the top fifty boys’ list were Luca, up 55 places to joint 47th, and Arthur, up 43 places to 46th
• Isla, Sophie and Amelia remained third, fourth and fifth for girls respectively
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